Resume Writing

What are employers looking for?

A resume is an important personal document that reflects your identity throughout your life. It is a summary of your experience, education, credentials and accomplishments used to apply for a job.

Your resume needs to show enough information to indicate that you can make an immediate and valuable contribution to the organization.

Did you know most employers spend 20 seconds or less screening your resume when they first receive it? In other words, you have only a few seconds to impress the employer.

Resume Types:

Which style of resume is best for you?

Functional: Use this format if you have lengthy gaps in your working history. The strength of this style is that it is brief, well-structured and highlights you skills. However, some employers are unfamiliar with this format and they are suspicious of any work history that does not include dates or places of employment.

Chronological: Employers are more familiar with this format. It is a simple list of jobs and education in reverse chronological order.

Combination: This is one of the best types of resume, as it presents a complete picture of you. The strength of this format lies in the emphasis placed on transferable skills and your upward mobility.

Targeted: This resume is customized specifically to highlight the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It definitely takes more work to write, but worth it in the end, always target your resume for best results.

Digital: This is a resume created in a digital format such as: pptx’, avi’, jpg, png, gif, pdf, mp3, mov, etc.

Some people make videos of themselves and post it as their resumes on YouTube. Others create ambitious fully feature website where they post their work and include design animations. When it comes to creating a digital resume the only real limits are your imagination and skill set. LinkedIn probably is the easiest way to get your resume online.

Choose the most appropriate type depending on your personal circumstances.

What’s in a Resume?

1. Name and Contact Information: Include your full name, address, postal code, telephone number and professional-looking e-mail.

2. Career objective: write either a brief description of your skills and abilities as they relate to the position you are applying for, or simply the job title you are applying for and competition number if it is applicable.

3. Summary of Qualifications: This is a concise overview of your qualifications as they are related to your job objective. Visit the “Qualifications” section of the job posting to determine what information to include in this section of your resume. Quantify as much as you can – numbers speak volumes. Use no more than 5-8 bullet points. Long lists of information invite readers to skim, not read and internalize what is seen on paper.

4. Relevant Skills: determine 3-4 skills based on job duties (listed in the job posting). Create a summary of all your related skills (not limited to one job or experience) by brainstorming. Then narrow down to the most relevant skills.